Rick Smith: YRC's possible demise

[Omaha Steve]

As the final hours of 2009 tick away so does the fate and livelihoods’ of more than 30,000 Teamster members employed by the fallen giant YRC. Never heard of YRC? You, and their customers, have something in common. YRC is the nations largest Less than Truck Load (LTL) with revenues failing to $5 billion. The workers at YRC may soon join the millions of recession victims whose companies buried themselves under massive amounts of debt and had nothing to show for it. Currently YRC is working to convince a number of its bondholders to swap their outstanding bonds for equity in the company and preferred stock. The problem is these bonds are insured, and those holding the 8.5% bonds have apparently decided their investment is best served by collecting the insurance and forcing YRC into bankruptcy. This is but one more in a long line of stories where Wall Street’s investor class wins and workers and their families lose.

I am one of those workers. I have spent the last 16 years working for Roadway Express and it illegitimate spawn YRC. I knew back in 2003, when Yellow Freight, the nation’s number #2 LTL carrier at the time purchased number #1 Roadway Express, that my days were numbered. Yellow Freight had a big reputation of buying up profitable companies (Preston immediately comes to mind) bleeding them dry and cutting them off to die destroying numerous decent family sustaining jobs in the process. Only this time it appears their strategy will take them down as well. This however is not a poor pitiful me story. This is a story of what the workers and their union did to save their jobs and their company from the greedy Wall Street marauders and the poor management that infested the corporate boardroom.

When and if YRC closes its doors throwing tens of thousands of working into the street all the mainstream corporate controlled media will be talking about is how yet another union company went out of business. The anti-union crowd will get a warm tingly feeling in their panties as they rant endlessly about gluttonous over privileged workers forcing a poor innocent company to its knees by demanding a reasonable wage, secure working conditions and quality benefits. The Rick Berman’s of the world will spin this tragedy into a very convenient screed on how the Employee Free Choice Act will doom every other company to a similar fate. The media will be all a twitter, and I am sure twitter will be too. Right wing radio will run 24/7 with horror stories of unions killing jobs. Corporate America will have its sound byte.

The truth will never be heard. You’ll never hear that the workers voted to give back 15% of their pay checks each week or that the workers voted to allow the company to freeze their pensions or that the union itself took unprecedented action to save this struggling giant. No, you’ll never hear that. You’ll hear big bad union destroys company. Long gone will be the numerous management blunders. Long gone are the memories of ill advised and overleveraged acquisitions. Long gone will be the memory of a CEO, William Zollars, who from 2006-2008 while the company stock was plummeting -15.4%, -54.7% and --83.2% respectively his compensation was rising $2.8M, $5.6M and $6.3M. Long gone will be the wasted revenue on NASCAR sponsorships, Golfer Sponsorships, and lavish board meetings while the company is selling off the office furniture to keep the lights on. I guess it is just easier to blame the victim. But rest assured William Zollars will be alright. In fact, I’d bet my last dollar, which may be sooner than later, that Mr. Zollars will be the next CEO wonder-boy following the likes of Home Depot’s CEO Robert Nardelli who after being fired carried off a tidy $210 million golden parachute and landed the CEO gig at Chrysler. There are no golden parachutes for the workers, just unemployment. The losers in all this are the workers, union, non-union, and management, whose families depended on these jobs and the benefits they provided. Why are these thousands of workers heading for the unemployment line? Bad decisions by one man and the greed of a handful of bondholders. Happy New Years and best of luck to all.


Rick Smith
20 year Teamster and host of the Rick Smith Show
To contact Rick email [e-mail]

(I got this email from Rick)

[Frosty1]

1. Excellent

Thank you for posting this!:applause:

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. I went to school with the kids of the family that owned Yellow Freight

It was a huge employer here at one time. But the family sold it to Roadway and walked off counting their money.

This is very very sad.

[The Rick Smith Show]

4. I'm not saying your wrong but

Yellow Freight bought Roadway. Not sure where this comes from but here is the article laying out the takeover.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/09/business/no-2-in-trucking-yellow-will-buy-no-1-roadway.html?pagewanted=1

I'm not sure how this article got on here, but thanks to whoever did it.

Rick

[Omaha Steve]

5. Rick, welcome to the DU

I wonder who or what got you here? :-)

Stop by the Labor Forum too: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=367

OS

[Omaha Steve]

3. UPDATE

Disregard the post request the debt equity plan was finally successful. A story on the workers sacrifices would be a good story though. Thanks. Rick
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